Bethesda's breakthrough: A story in-game brought to its marketing

Image by Vandgory on SteamGrid

It's the best time to be a gamer. As an interactive medium, gaming makes us a part of the story. In spite of predatory tactics from many large companies, like releasing untested, unfinished games and pay-to-win models, some of the most story-driven and groundbreaking immersion into imaginary worlds is found in games.

What makes a game stand out to an audience?

Video game marketing differs drastically from marketing tech products with a focus on the worlds within the games, not just the features and updates to a product. Large tech companies adopt recurring characters and “universes” as well. Think of the “can you hear me now?” guy and the big deal it was when he switched to Sprint. Characters and worldbuilding connect to their audience. Games access the analytical and creative parts, the logic and emotion, and successful companies must tap both halves of the brain in their marketing.

The worlds of Bethesda

Bethesda is a master in captivating their audiences. Founded in 1986, Bethesda Softworks split its development to a new company in 2001, Bethesda Game Studios. The game studio started with 40 people and their first major launch was the hit game Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. In Elder Scrolls III, we come upon the continent Tamriel on an island called Morrowind. Three god-like beings rule over Morrowind, and one, Dagoth Ur, wants to drive out the Empire with the Heart of Lorkhan. The player, immune to Dagoth Ur’s divine plague, fulfills seven prophecies to rid the island of Dagoth Ur’s evil.

Driven by a burning platform that the company would close its doors after a series of flops, they put their all into one last game. Morrowind was a hit on Xbox and branched out. The sky was the limit. They acquired Fallout, a previously dead franchise, and invested in their next Elder Scrolls, Oblivion. Bethesda broke into low fantasy with the Fallout franchise. Fallout takes place in a retrofuturistic alternate universe. It diverges from our timeline after World War II and the Cold War never ended. The technology focuses on nuclear and atom power rather than transistors, so there is an old-time feel to the artifacts, although it takes place in the future. In 2054, Vault-Tec built vaults for the government in case of a nuclear apocalypse that happened in 2077. In this post-apocalyptic world, you play with or against the factions that took over after the vaults opened. The worldbuilding in franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout uniquely inserts the player. The player shapes the story to their style, where every choice you make results in different progressions and endings of each quest .

Image from Adrew Webster on The Verge

What stopped Bethesda from being a one-hit-wonder with Oblivion and plunged them into the gaming mainstream? They created in-depth worldbuilding that fans fell in love with and brought it to their marketing. Todd Howard, the lead director of Elder Scrolls and Fallout, became the face of these franchises and is well known in the gaming community. He put a face to the behind-the-scenes development and wove the story of the games into Bethesda. Not only that, but he stays involved in development rather than taking a back seat like many presenters from big tech companies.

Having a face to the development creates another layer of personality with gamers. Fallout 76 was poorly received. There was a disconnect between developers and fans, but Bethesda acknowledged their short comings. The company strayed too far from the story-driven atmosphere fans came to know and love. The game-breaking bugs were plenty and had much to do with its failure. However, the focus on survival mechanics and multiplayer interactions didn't click. Trying a new type of game wasn't what turned off gamers to Fallout 76. It was the deviation from the complex and vast storytelling we came to love.

As Howard said, "we quickly recognized that the game wasn't really giving our audience what they wanted, and they were really let down by what we delivered on day one. Without a doubt, we let a lot of people down."

With honesty like that, it gives fans hope for the future. Bethesda communicated their failure, unlike many larger game studios like EA, who justify their predatory and unpopular practices. This honesty and forward-looking vision that Bethesda shares with its fans make them a part of the company's future.

Bethesda looks at the past, shows us the present, and looks to the future in every announcement. With Starfield coming out, Bethesda's first new franchise in almost 30 years, excited fans still look forward to the latest stories to come.